In the Land of Waves, various creatures inhabit the beautiful Mangrove Forest.
The Chimera Bug colony sent by Orochimaru to the Land of Waves lived here.
A masked monster, composed entirely of black blood vessels, tremblingly crawled out from among the gathered Chimera Bugs, swayed, and walked in front of Kakuzu.
Kakuzu looked at the masked monster, which was much more listless after feeding the Chimera Bugs Chakra, and fell silent; he knew he was very picky about hearts, and every heart was contributed by a Jonin-level Ninja.
However, even a masked monster with such a heart was almost drained of Chakra by the Chimera Bugs.
Kakuzu regretted it; he truly regretted rejecting the funding application from the person in charge of watching over the Chimera Bugs; he had previously thought, weren't they just some big bugs that could be used as low-level summoned beasts?
Reality, however, slapped him hard in the face; these big bugs were more voracious and smarter than he imagined, and they even knew not to completely drain the masked monster's Chakra.
If the Chakra were completely eaten, his heart would be ruined.
"Mr. Kakuzu, is it... alright?"
The person in charge of watching over the Chimera Bugs was a young girl from the Iburi Clan named Mu, and looking at the masked monster, which had become much more listless and limp from its previous ferocity, a hint of worry was in her eyes.
"He'll be fine after some rest."
Kakuzu's expression did not change in the slightest; he reached out his hand to the masked monster, and the masked monster dispersed into black blood vessels, drilling into various parts of his clothes and then into the places where his black blood vessels were stitched.
Seeing this, Mu couldn't help but move back a little; this scene looked truly horrifying.
Kakuzu noticed Mu's movement and understood the girl's fear of him; he tidied his clothes and said, "Mu, I've approved your funding application."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Kakuzu!"
Mu clasped her hands together, thinking that the problem of these big guys' Chakra needs was finally resolved.
This Mr. Kakuzu had not been with the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company for long, but she often heard of his great achievements; many projects that sought his approval for funding would have many problems pointed out by him, and no one had ever managed to get 1 more tael of funds from him.
When transporting goods and encountering bandit groups, she heard that his Fire Release directly burned a forest into a barren land, and the bandit group was burned to ashes.
However, to deal with a bandit group, using such an exaggerated Fire Release was perhaps making a mountain out of a molehill.
People in the company secretly called him the Iron-faced Miser.
Kakuzu watched the Chimera Bug flying through the air, its huge pincer clamping a fierce beast; its powerful jaws bit and killed the twisting, futilely struggling beast in one go.
Could the Chimera Bugs have been cultivated by Orochimaru?
Kakuzu considered himself well-informed, yet he had never seen such intelligent bugs with certain social behaviors; given Orochimaru's research achievements, he suspected whether the Chimera Bugs had anything to do with her.
The Chimera Bug noticed Kakuzu looking at it, landed on the ground, reluctantly looked at the beast that was already dead in its pincer, and offered it over.
"I don't need it."
Kakuzu turned around and left using the Body Flicker Technique.
The Chimera Bug lowered its head somewhat dejectedly; the girl walked over, jumped onto it, and patted its head, comforting it, "Don't be sad, Mr. Kakuzu just has that kind of personality."
Kakuzu returned to the company, sat in his office, picked up the latest collected intelligence, and saw information about the Konoha Hyuga Clan.
Main House and Branch House system... wasn't that passed down from generation to generation in the Hyuga Clan?
This system was abolished; could it be that the Caged Bird Curse Mark was undone?
Who is so powerful that they can undo the Caged Bird Curse Mark?
In the era when the Ninja World was still in turmoil, the Hyuga Clan's Bloodline Limit Byakugan was a coveted existence; although the Byakugan's abilities were not as good as the Sharingan's in combat, in terms of reconnaissance, the Sharingan could not even come close.
The Hyuga Clan's Main House and Branch House system was precisely to prevent the Byakugan from being stolen; there were attempts to undo the Caged Bird Curse Mark, but no one had ever succeeded in undoing the Caged Bird Curse Mark.
Knock, knock, knock--!
The knocking sounded, and Kakuzu casually put the intelligence into the drawer.
"Come in."
"Mr. Kakuzu, please review this."
A nervous man handed the funding application report to Kakuzu.
"This item doesn't need this much, and this item, this item, and this item... Don't think that just because I used to be a Ninja, I don't understand these things."
Kakuzu looked at the funding application report, picked out the overpriced items, and stared sharply at the man, "Calculate the costs properly before bringing it to me; I hope there won't be a next time, understand?"
"Eek! Yes, yes, Mr. Kakuzu!"
The man trembled in fear and quickly walked out of Kakuzu's office.
"Hmph, wanting more funds from me, dream on!"
---
In a room in the Laboratory, the lights were bright.
Orochimaru, lying on the bed in the center, slowly opened her eyes; a layer of liquid, almost fused with her eyeballs, covered her eyes; this was the liquid invisible contact lens she had been developing for a long time to defend against genjutsu.
At first, there was a slight discomfort, but now the abnormal feeling had completely disappeared.
"Lord Orochimaru, how do you feel?"
Imu anxiously stood by, and outside the room, many people were also waiting for the results.
They really wanted to know whether the liquid invisible contact lens, which had been researched for a long time, was a success or a failure.
"Very good, very good."
Orochimaru looked around; seeing things became clearer, like using a magnifying lens; she tried to inject Chakra into the liquid invisible contact lens, ripples appeared in Orochimaru's eyes, and the liquid invisible contact lens quickly adjusted, magnifying distant objects several times.
Is this equivalent to carrying a telescope with her?
This was not the function Orochimaru cared about most; what she cared about most was whether the liquid invisible contact lens could resist, or even reflect, genjutsu.
Here, it must be mentioned that in the original work, Orochimaru, at Genjutsu level 10, stumbled on a low-level genjutsu; if Yakushi Kabuto hadn't come to his rescue in time, it wouldn't have been as simple as losing an arm.
"Imu, cast a genjutsu on me."
Orochimaru remembered that Imu knew a little genjutsu; her level in genjutsu might not be high, but it was better than her having to find a genjutsu Ninja temporarily.
"Lord Orochimaru... I cannot cast genjutsu on you."
Imu shook her head; how could she cast genjutsu on Lord Orochimaru?
"Imu, this is to test the research results."
Orochimaru said seriously; sometimes she really didn't like their excessive loyalty.
"Then... please forgive me..."
Imu formed hand seals, constantly telling herself that this was to test the research results to convince herself.
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!"
Is this what it feels like to be caught in a genjutsu?
This was the first time Orochimaru had so directly experienced the feeling of being caught in a genjutsu; Chakra was injected into the liquid invisible contact lens, and the genjutsu, which had not yet affected her, was bounced back.
Imu felt the surroundings darken, the environment changed from the Laboratory to an incredibly dark place, countless chains wrapped around her body and arms, pulling at her arms, forcing her to stretch out her arms.
This is... my genjutsu... Lord Orochimaru's research has succeeded!
"Release!"
Orochimaru saw that Imu was caught in genjutsu, pointed her finger at her shoulder, and used her own Chakra to disrupt Imu's Chakra, thereby releasing the genjutsu.
"Lord Orochimaru, you succeeded..."
Imu wiped the sweat from her face and said excitedly.
Orochimaru got out of bed, looked at the door of the room, and said, "It's not that I succeeded; it's that we succeeded. The research results are not mine alone, but also yours, who assisted me in the research."
Having successfully developed a liquid invisible contact lens that could resist genjutsu, her mood was very good; this way, she wouldn't have to worry about being caught in genjutsu for no reason; on the contrary, she could even reflect the genjutsu used against her.
However, this was only the first generation of liquid invisible contact lens; whether it could resist Sharingan genjutsu was still unknown, and if it could resist Sharingan genjutsu, to what extent could it resist genjutsu?
One tomoe? Two tomoe? Three tomoe?
Beyond that, Orochimaru did not believe that the liquid invisible contact lens could resist Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu.
That would require developing the Nth generation of liquid invisible contact lens to possibly resist Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu.
Orochimaru opened the door, looked at the crowd standing in front of the door, and said with a smile, "You've all worked hard; next, we still need to continue researching biotechnology, as well as conducting more in-depth research based on the liquid invisible contact lens; I am not someone who will be content with the status quo."
The biotechnology Orochimaru wanted to research included cloning, regeneration, and genetics, as well as the next generation of liquid invisible research, and Chakra Poison research.
As for more dangerous thermal weapons, Orochimaru preferred to research them in remote, uninhabited places, lest she accidentally blow up her important Laboratory.
Not to mention blowing up the Laboratory, these people who assisted her in the research were her important subordinates; if they died in an explosion, she would be heartbroken.
What if, just in case, the explosion was a bit larger, Konoha might also suffer.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Orochimaru formed hand seals, and with a puff, the smoke cleared, and five Shadow Clones appeared beside her.
"You all stay in the Laboratory and conduct research."
Orochimaru looked at her Shadow Clones.
"Hurry up and go."
"We don't have that much time to chat with you."
"Hurry, hurry."
"You all come here, we need to start the research."
Orochimaru's Shadow Clones were eager for her to leave; some directly beckoned the people assisting in the research to walk towards a distant room.
Why are only my Shadow Clones so annoying?
Orochimaru couldn't understand; in the original work, so many people used Shadow Clones, but none were like her Shadow Clones, who not only betrayed her, the original body, but also often talked back to her.
It must be that the awesome Shadow Clone Technique developed by Senju Tobirama mutated when it came to me!
Yes, it must be so!
Orochimaru comforted herself in her heart and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to go to Konoha's Third Training Ground.
"Orochimaru, I challenge you!"
At the Third Training Ground, Uchiha Youka found Orochimaru, who was meditating with her eyes closed.
"Oh, this time you brought companions to challenge me?"
Orochimaru looked at the boy and girl behind Uchiha Youka, as well as the Jonin instructor who awkwardly raised his hand to his forehead, and understood what was going on.
It must be this boisterous brat who insisted on challenging her.
"I alone am enough! This time it won't end so simply!"
Uchiha Youka pointed at Orochimaru with great momentum.
"Did you awaken your Sharingan?"
"N-no…"
Uchiha Youka's momentum deflated by half.
"Did you become a Chunin?"
"Not yet…"
Uchiha Youka's momentum was completely gone.
"Then did you prepare the challenge fee?"
"..."
Uchiha Youka retreated a few steps.
Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Youka with disdain, pointing a finger at him and saying, "You, you didn't awaken your Sharingan, you haven't become a Chunin, and you haven't prepared a challenge fee. Are you here to humiliate yourself?"
"I will definitely become a Chunin in the next Chunin Exams!"
Uchiha Youka's eyes turned red from Orochimaru's words. He left a harsh remark and ran away.
"We are very sorry, we tried to stop him."
"We've caused you trouble!"
Uchiha Youka's companions bowed in apology, then chased after him.
"Orochimaru, Youka caused you trouble."
The Jonin instructor stepped forward and said. In today's Konoha, almost no one didn't know Orochimaru, and he was no exception. He happened to be nearby when Orochimaru's house collapsed.
"As Uchiha Youka's Jonin instructor, you seem to be more exhausted, don't you?"
Orochimaru looked at the helpless Jonin instructor, waved her hand, not caring that Uchiha Youka had disturbed her.
She was quite looking forward to an Uchiha with an awakened Sharingan challenging her. This would give her an opportunity to test whether the liquid invisible contact lenses could resist Sharingan genjutsu, which was very important for her future research.
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